Vent for the escape of combustion-gases in burning buildings.



PATENTED AUG. 13 1907.

J. ELMER. VENT FOR THE ESCAPE OF COMBUSTION GASES IN BURNING BUILDINGS.

lAPPLIGATION FILED NOV-1"]. 1906.

2 SHEETS-SHEET- l.

' I [mfzntor I I PATENTED AUG. 13, 1907.

J. ELMER. VENT FOR THE ESCAPE 0F COMBUSTION GASES IN BURNING BUILDINGS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 17 1906.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

121: NDRRIS PETERS ca, vmsumcrmv, 0.1:.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN ELMER, OF KINGSTON, ONTARIO, CANADA.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 13, 1907.

Application filed llovemher l'L 1906. Serial 110.843 928.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN ELMER, a subject of the King of Great Britain,residing at No. 306 Brock street, in the city of Kingston, county ofFrontenac, Province of Ontario, in the Dominion of Canada, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements for Vents for the Escape ofCombustion-Gases in Burning Buildings, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to improvements in vents for the escape ofcombustion gases in burning buildings, as described in the presentspecification and set forth in the accompanying drawings that form partof the same.

The invention consists essentially in a roof having an openingtheretlnough, a valve closing said opening and means for operating saidvalve.

The object of the invention is to insure the escape of combustion gasesgenerated in a burning building and consequently obviate the danger ofthe spread of the conflagration and the loss of life within the buildingthrough the rapid travel of the said gases throughout the building wherea proper vent is not provided and besides, lessening the difliculties ofthe firemen in fighting the fire by providing a flue at the proper pointand thus localizing the fire, the detailed description being explainedmore particularly in the present specification and illustrated in theaccompanying drawings.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a sectional perspective view of a house topshowing the vent therethrough for the combustion gases and a valveinserted in said vent hole. Fig. 2 is a perspective detail of the valveshown in Fig. 1 apart from the roof. Fig. 3 is a sectional perspectiveview of a house-top showing another form of valve. Fig. 4 is a sectionalperspective view of the valve shown in Fig. 3 showing the valve open.Fig. 5 is a perspective view of still another form of valve and venthole.

Like letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in each figure.

In the present specification there are three forms of valves shown anddescribed but it must be understood that any arrangement of swing orsliding valve may be used, operated either by a fusible plug or bycables, levers, steam, electric, or other suitable means. The mainfeatures of the invention being the means for assisting the firemen inpreventing the spread of the confiagration.

Referring to the drawings and to Figs. land 2, a is the roof of thebuilding having the centrally arranged vent hole I) in the ridgethereof, 0 is a cylindrical vent pipe extending through the vent hole band rigidly secured to the roof therearound and having the openings lltherethrough beneath said roof and the openings 6 therethrough abovesaid roof.

f is a hood secured on the top of the vent pipe c protecting theopenings 6 from the weather conditions. Said vent pipe 0 has an annularflange g at the lower end thereof.

h is a sleeve closed at the lower end and having the inturned flange iat the upper end and sliding up and down over the lower portion of thevent pipe 0 and in its upper position completely covering in theopenings d in the said vent pipe.

j is a pulley turning in suitable bearings in the bracket 7c secured tothe under side of the roof of the building close to the vent pipe 0.

l is a bracket secured to the under side of the roof of the building andextending downwardly therefrom and having a hollow cylindrical boss atat the lower end thereof. v i

n is a latch bolt slidably arranged in the boss at and is spring held inits forward position by a suitable spring ensconced within the saidcylindrical boss and having an eye lug 0 at the outer end thereof. Theinner end p of the latch 71 is beveled to the under side and the saidlatch adapted to co-act with a lug or bracket q secured to the sleeve hpreferably mid-way of its length.

1' is a pulley journaled in suitable bearings in the bracket 3 securedto the under side of the roof of the building and preferably in linewith the eye lug 0 of the latch n.

t is a wire cable secured to the eye lug 0 and extending over the pulley1' and continued downwardly along the roof and walls of the buildingthrough suitable pulleys or guides, as the case may be, to a convenientpoint and may be readily reached on the occasion of a fire, from anyheight in the building. Thus it will be seen that the latch n may beoperated, say from the ground floor of a building, and as the normalposition of the latch is beneath the bracket (1 for supporting thesleeve h in its upward position covering the vent holes d, any pull onthe cable 12 will release the latch from engagement with the bracket qand allow the sleeve h to drop and uncover the openings 01 and allowfree passage for the air or gas in the building through the vent pipe 0.

The lifting of the sleeve h into its upward position to cover theopenings d is accomplished by pulling on a cable u extending throughsuitable guides and pulleys say to the ground floor of the building, orany suitable point. The said cable extending over the pulley j and beingsecurely attached to the sleeve h at 1). When the sleeve h is lifted toits upward position the latch n will spring over the beveled surface ofthe bracket q into its place beneath said bracket and the cable it isthen loosened so as to allow the said sleeve h to be dropped by pullingon the cable t. This style of vent valve is considered the most suitableas it is situated at the peak of the roof of the building and thereforeat the most suitable point for a flue to-be, particularly in buildingshaving gable roofs. Of course'this is not so essential in many classesof buildings and therefore it is advisable to have different forms ofvalves for the vent holes.

In Fig. 3, I have shown an opening to through the stretch of roof :6.This opening is covered by a flap valve y finding its seat on the ring 2encircling the opening to. The valve y is hinged at 2 in the brackets 3immediately adjacent to the ring z. The valve y has dependingfrom itsunder surface in proximity to the outer edge thereof, the hook shapedlug 4.

5 is a bracket secured to the underside of the roof and 6 is a springlatch supported in the bracket 5 and having an eye lug '7 at its outerend and a beveled shaped catch at its inner end engaging the hook shapedlug 4.

8 is a cable secured to the eye lug 7 and extending through suitableguides to any point in the building where it is desirable to operate thedevice from, preferably the ground floor.

'9 is an arm having a curved inner end and rigidly secured in a lug 10on the inner face ofthe valve y and extending outwardly therefrom andterminating in the weight 11 adjacent to the inner surface of the roofof the building, said weight having the eye 12 rigid therewith. 4

13 is a cable secured to the eye 12 and extending over the pulley 14journaled in the bracket 15 secured to the under surface of the roof ofthe building and continuing through suitable guides to the ground fiooror other desirable part of the building.

It will be thus seen that on the release of the latch 6 from engagementwith the lug 4 by pulling on the cable 8, the weight 11 on the arm 9will drop the said arm downwardly and as the said arm is rigid with thevalve y the effect of the dropping of the said arm is to throw the valveoutwardly, that is, swing the said valve on its hinges. This will havethe effect of opening the vent hole and providing a flue for the escapeof the combustion and other poisonous gases. The cable 13 is of courseleft loose'so that the arm 9 will be free to'swing downwardly. In orderto close the valve y the cable 13 is pulled from any desired'place whichbrings the weight back into its upward position. The beveled portion ofthe hook lug 4 will push the spring latch backas it drops downwardly andthe said latch will spring over the hooked portion of the said lug andhold the valve securely in position. The cable l3may then be loosenedand the device left in readiness for use.

The form of valve shown in Figs. 3 and 4 is only one of many forms offlap valves which may be used, as in Fig. 5,. a hooded pipe 16 is shownprojecting from the vent hole and a flap valve 17, hinged in proximityto said pipe on the under portion of the roof. The valve 17 is simplypulled to itsseat by the cable 18 and held in place by the spring latch19 which engages a lug 20 on the edge of said valve and the said latchoperated to release the said valve by pulling on the cable 21. Of coursethis simple form of valve would only do under certain conditions, aswell finished buildings of a permanent nature would require a morepositive operation in the opening and closing of the emergency flue.

In fire fighting the greatest difliculty is experienced in getting at afire where it works its way between the strapping and the plaster andthe cause of this invariably is the spread of the combustion gases whichare generated in all fires throughout wall and other spaces. Thedistribution of these gases within the building, no matter whether inthe floors or the walls or any other spaces, is the means of extending aconflagration and seriously interfering with the efforts of the firemen.In order to findthe properand natural vent for these gases a flue isopened at'a point where they naturally would collect, that is, in thetop of the building. In any event the draft created by the flue orflues, as described in the present specification, ch'aws the explosiveand combustion gases from any part of the building thus, as beforeexplained, localizing the fire and rendering the work of the firefighters comparatively easy and preventingthem from being overcome withpoisonous-gases which is such a common occurrence.

It need hardly be mentioned that the dense smoke so dangerous to thefire fighters and making it so difficult to locate the fire is almostentirely eliminated by opening up the vent hole or holes in the roof ofthe building.

What I claim as my invention is:-

1. In a vent for the escape of combustion gases in burning buildings, agravity operating member normally in an upper position and closing theopening leading to and through the roof, a spring latch retaining saidmember in its upper position, a cable attached to said latch forreleasing the aforesaid member and opening the vent, and a cableattached to said member for hauling the same to its upper and lockedposition, substantially as described.

2. In a'vent for the escape of combustion gases in burning buildings,the combination with a cylindrical casing projecting through the roof ofthe building, of a weighted valve closing the opening through saidcasing and roof, a spring held latch bolt having a beveled lip facingdownwardly, a latch member rigid with said valve and co-acting with saidbeveled lip, means for hauling said valve up \vardly and bringing saidlatch member into engagement with said beveled lip, and instantaneousmeans for releasing said latch bolt and dropping said valve unretarded,substantially as described.

Signed at the city of Kingston, in the county of Frontenac, Province ofOntario, in the Dominion of Canada, this 23rd day of October, 1906.

JOHN ELMER.

Witnesses:

MABELLE GAUDREAU, INA L. MILLER.

